


Daredevil Season 3 E04

by VeryMildSuperPowers



Series: Season 3 [5]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 11:20:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7313143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryMildSuperPowers/pseuds/VeryMildSuperPowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen bumps into an old friend who has some advice for her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daredevil Season 3 E04

S03E04

Matt had showered and dressed, letting Karen sleep in. She had told him she was getting a late start and didn’t need to be up early. 

Yesterday evening with Madame Goa had been confusing and terrifying. What the hell was she? He was lucky she seemed to want him around, otherwise he would surely be dead by now. Unless somehow the suit had saved him when he was her unconscious prisoner. He intended to ask T'Challa if that was possible the next time they spoke. So, in the meantime, she was another puzzle to be solved. Where to start?

Last night with Karen had been amazing. He had been so relieved that she was there when he got home. He wouldn’t have blamed her if she hadn’t waited for him to return and gone back to her place, but no, she had been there, in his bed.

Right where he needed her to be.

And she was still there, right now.

He wished they could take the day off. Just the two of them sealed off from the rest of the world, spending the day together talking, eating, making out when the mood took them. But he had to report to T’Challa, and despite the late start she’d probably be leaving for work soon.

He cooked himself a light breakfast and prepared hers for cooking as well, he’d see to it when she was ready. He heard her get up and start the shower. Opening his report to T’Challa, he shared Madame Goa’s suggestion to look for more holes, and explained his previous dealings with her. And asking T’Challa if he knew anything about her. He intended to scout the New York landscape in the plane, and advised he’d let TChalla know when he was about to do so. 

Karen had turned the shower off, but instead of coming out to the living room he heard her get back into bed. Was something wrong?

He abandoned his computer and headed to the bedroom, leaning against the door frame.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Mmm-hmm. Better than okay.”

“Are you getting up soon?”

“Nope, staying right here.” She hugged his pillow, pressed her face into it and breathed in. 

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

“I am at work.”

“How can you be at work when you are in my bed?”

“You’re my new assignment. Well, one of them. Ellison has asked me to find out who Daredevil really is.”

“What?”

“It’s okay, from what he said I don’t think he really expects results, I think he’s just testing me.”

“What’s the other assignment?”

“The car-bombing at Nelson & Murdock.”

“Could you ask for something maybe a little less dangerous?”

“Said the man in the black mask who goes out at night beating people up and God-knows what else.”

“Karen. The Blacksmith was after you when you were investigating him, someone who blows up government cars isn’t going to hesitate about getting rid of a pesky reporter.”

As soon as the words came out of his mouth he realized that she’d think back to Ben. That hadn’t been his intention, he didn’t want to upset her, just have her realize she needed to be really careful. He heard her breath catch in her throat.

“Hey. I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant…” He went over to her and sat on the bed. When she reached out for him he pulled her in for a tight hug. Here, in her arms, he had found his place. This was everything. 

They released.

“Tell you what. I’ll give you your first story. The Daredevil one. Right from the start.”

He climbed over her and stretched out on his side of the bed, kicking his shoes off and folding his arms behind his head. She turned onto her side to face him. And he told her everything.

His earliest memories of growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, with his dad, Battlin’ Jack the boxer. Then the accident, becoming blind, followed soon after by Jack’s death. The orphanage, Stick, the beginning of his training. Learning to use his new abilities.

Then, of course, Stick’s abandonment, and returning to a normal life. Well, as normal as life can be when you’re blind and growing up in a Catholic orphanage. Law School with Foggy, meeting Elektra, who then turned over his father’s killer to him. Causing the end of his relationship with her.

Starting up Nelson & Murdock – she knew half that story, the Matt Murdock part, and now she knew the Daredevil part too. The Russians, Claire, Fisk, Owlsley, Nobu and Madame Gao. Frank Castle. He held nothing back, up to and including what had happened last night with Madame Gao.

She didn’t know what to say. Not at first. He had brought her to tears when he spoke of Foggy’s rejection of him when he really needed him, after Nobu’s attack. Sure, he had been there at first, taking care of Matt for a day, but leaving abruptly in an angry mood. Finding her at the office when he was injured and in pain, lonely and worn down. Remembering those moments, but with the new information of what had really been going on. Hearing his need for her in the tone of his voice, knowing now how much he had really been suffering, a suffering abated by her presence. She had taken him in her arms and let him surrender to the pain, supporting him without question. That night, she had saved him.

That was two days after she had shot and killed James Wesley.

Should she tell him now? She was mulling over what to do, and Matt could almost hear her brain working. She was slightly anxious, and he picked up the signals, heart rate, skin temperature.

“Don’t tell me now. It can wait.” He kissed her gently on the lips, and got up. 

She relaxed a little, but so much of what he had told her was deeply concerning. He willingly threw himself into dangerous situations time and time again, not always considering the consequences. Her initial assumption of his perceived serenity was way off-base.

“Jesus, Matt. Thank God T’Challa got you the new suit.” 

“I know. It saved my life when I went down the hole.” He sat on the edge of the bed, putting his shoes back on.

“What about when Madame Gao had you?“ She also got out of bed and started dressing.

“To be honest, I don’t think she wants me dead. She’s chasing information on Nobu. I’m just not sure if I should give it to her or not.”

“Are you still looking for Elektra?”

“She’s on my list. Breakfast?”

“Yes please. But coffee first. I’ll go get it.” 

“C’mere.” He reached a hand out towards her. She took it, and he pulled her in, wrapping his other arm around her waist. They hugged tightly. After all he had told her he wanted some contact time with her, to immerse himself in the sensation of bonding with her. They were drawing closer together with each passing day, taking the time to make the moments that would become cherished memories.

They kissed, and she headed out the door.

 

In the street she bumped into someone who had maneuvered himself in front of her, a man in a jacket with a cap pulled low over his face.

“Sorry” she said with a frown.

“Hey.”

She stopped. That voice. Frank?

She turned. He had his finger to his lips, signaling she should not say his name out loud. He indicated to one side with his head, and she nodded her understanding and fell into step beside him.

In the coffee shop he sat her at a booth, but did not sit himself.

“Wait here. I gotta make a quick call. Order something.” He stepped back outside, pulled out a phone and dialed.

 

Matt’s phone rang. Unknown number. He answered it anyway.

“Matt Murdock.”

“Frank Castle. How you doing, Murdock? Taking care of that pretty girl of yours?”

“That sounds vaguely threatening. What’s going on, Frank?”

“How fast can you get to the diner on West 53rd St?”

“Less than five.”

“Do it.” He hung up and went back inside to Karen.

Karen looked at Frank suspiciously. 

“What’s going on, Frank?”

“Nothing much. What’s going on with you?” He assumed a casual posture as he sat down. Karen looked exasperated.

“You know what I mean. You bumped into me. What’s going on?” More insistent.

“Still a wanted man, remember? Shh. I need to talk to you about your story.”

“Which story?”

“The bombing. You’re wasting your time, and you need to drop it. Now.”

“What the hell?” Angry now.

Frank sat back and rested his chin on his hands. 

“I am not trying to piss you off. I am trying to let you know that this goes way deeper than you ever can. So drop it.”

“Drop what?”

“Matt!” Karen exclaimed. She looked over at Frank. The phone call. She reached out for Matt’s hand and slid over so he could sit next to her. They instinctively kissed.

To Frank’s eyes, they were in honeymoon phase. Matt had the aura of a man who was getting loads of regular sex, and Karen was positively glowing.

Back to business.

“The explosion. At your office. You won’t find anything about it. I was there. Got there just in time to see you two getting in the back of an ambulance. You were followed. A black limo that was parked across the street.”

“We know who that was. He’s no threat.”

“You sure?

“My new boss.” 

Frank nodded.

“So who did it?” Matt asked.

Frank shook his head. “The thing is, I got a look at that scene before it was shut down. I didn’t see any sign of any explosive device I know of, military or otherwise. Blast pattern was all wrong. Then the suits turned up so I go out of there. Called some contacts, asked around. Whatever this is, it’s top level. But it’s not worth dying for.”

“If it’s such a great mystery then don’t you want to know what it is? Who did this?” Karen appealed to Frank.

Matt reached out and put his hand on her arm.

“Hey, Frank’s right. This might be too big for us.”

“Too big? You’ve got an invisible….”

His grip on her arm tightened.

“An invisible…?” Frank asked. 

Matt sighed. He and Frank shared the bond of battle, not military, but personal. And he had saved Karen’s life.

He decided to tell him.

“I’ll get us coffees to go.” Matt got up and went over to the counter to place the order.

“Wait a minute. How did you know I was working on this?” Karen asked Frank.

“I got ears around.”

“Where exactly?”

The only places Karen had discussed the bombing story was at Matt’s place, at her office at work and in Brett’s office. So which one had Frank bugged? She’d bet on it being her office. He would have heard her entire conversation with Cooper Crossfire.

“Trade secret.” No point in pushing further. There was something else she was curious about, though. 

“When did you find out? That Matt was Daredevil?”

“Spent that whole night with him up on the rooftop, and then again in the cemetery after he got me away from the Irish. When you all came to the hospital, I knew it was him.” 

“The first time I met him, as Daredevil, was in my apartment. He beat the crap out of the hit man sent to kill me.”

At the counter, with his back to them, Matt smiled.

“Yeah, well, the first time I met him, he kneed me in the face. Got him back, though. Shot him in the head.”

“He’s a complicated guy.”

“Sure is. Seems like a complication you can handle, though.”

Karen smiled. 

 

 

Back at Matt’s place, Matt headed into the bedroom to suit up. If Frank had thought his previous suit was little boy’s pajamas, what the hell would he think of this one?

Karen started showing Frank the information T’Challa had sent about the Hand, briefly explaining the situation.

Matt walked out into the sitting room, and before Frank had a chance to comment he cloaked. “Care to come upstairs?” They heard his footsteps going up the stairs, and followed him onto the roof.

Within a minute the plane had landed. Matt extended the cloaking field so that they were inside it too, invisible to everyone else. Frank inspected the plane to his satisfaction.

“What do you think, now, Frank? Is this mystery explosion still out of our league?” asked Karen.

“I’m not the one you need to be convincing.” said Frank, indicating towards Matt.

Karen looked over to Matt. He had taken the mask off and she could see the hesitation on his face.

“You don’t want to look into this? Foggy could have been killed, Matt. We could have been killed.”

“Exactly. I don’t want you being exposed to any more danger. If we do this, if I do this, you have to stay out of it completely. “

“He’s right. He’s got the gear. You’ll either get in the way, or you’ll be the perfect hostage. You've raised some red flags, I put a stop to it but if you keep digging...”

Matt raised his eyebrows in agreement with Frank. Karen was annoyed at the two of them joining up and turning on her, but could see their point.

“Damn it. What am I going to tell Ellison? Both of my assignments are a bust.”

Matt pulled her over and gave her a kiss. “You’ll think of something. I’ll be back soon.” He started to move away, but Karen grabbed him and pulled him close. Frank looked away with a grin, but she put her lips to Matt’s ear and as quietly as she could she murmured “Sweep the apartment.” before kissing his cheek. He gave a small nod.

He got into the plane, cloaked and took off. He saw them go back inside and ran the scanner over the building, recording the results for later analysis.

 

 

Matt decided the first structure he looked at would be Madame Gao’s dry-cleaning business, but his scans did not reveal anything out of the ordinary. He then began a methodical scan of the entire Manhattan Island, and prepared a message to T’Challa. It was brief: First recruit, Frank Castle. Then he paused for thought before sending it. There was no way he could stop Karen from doing her investigations, but maybe he could better protect her if she was working for T’Challa too. Still, it could prove to be a double-edged sword, so it was with some trepidation that he amended the message to read: First recruit, Karen Page. Second recruit, Frank Castle. Send. 

 

In Matt’s apartment, Karen was in the kitchen cooking what Matt had prepped and Frank was seated at the table in front of the laptop. Frank was reading more about the Hand and Karen explained how Matt was now surveying the city.

She also conveyed Matt’s stories about Madame Gao and her unnatural abilities. Frank had never experienced anything like it and had no idea what to make of it. If she could appear out of thin air and grow tentacles, what else could she do? How did you kill something like that?

“So, how are you handling all this? This is pretty weird stuff.”

“Mmm, I know. But, as far as he’s concerned, I’m so glad I know what’s going on now. It’s just that… well, finding out has come at a price.”

“What price?”

“My ignorance, I guess. Before he was sheltering me from knowing about everything that was gong on, and this is some scary shit. I mean, after the Attack on New York we all found out about some of what else is out there, but it’s here too. They’re already on Earth, here among us. We have to prepare for that, however we can.”

“How can you?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. But I feel a lot safer with him around.”

Frank nodded. “You know, he was never scared when I had him chained up. He was frustrated, he was angry, he tried to get away, but…he was never afraid. Even when I held a gun to his head.”

Karen paused. “I’ve seen him afraid.” she said softly.

“Of course you have.” Frank said. “You’re the only one he’d show it to.”

 

Tony said to Peter: “There’s someone else I’m interested in, too. Ever seen this guy?” He held up a small monitor displaying Daredevil on CCTV footage.

“No, never, who is he?”

“Don’t know, but it might be time to track him down too. There’s nothing new on him, though. Last posting was two weeks ago. Need to find out if he’s still active.”

“Active? What does that mean? Alive?”

“Maybe. Or he’s just found a way to stay of the grid. Which means – maybe somebody new is helping him. Or has him. Let’s look into his last sightings.”

 

 

All-up there were eight properties with holes beneath them. He sent the reports off to T’Challa and headed for home, turning up a monitor displaying a news report about a recent attack. The victim was describing how his attacker had seemed able to change shape, and he only escaped because a car drove by and scared the perpetrator away. 

Was it Madame Gao? How much could she change? Why would she attack a seemingly-random victim? He landed on the rooftop and alighted the plane and sent it back to base.

Instead of heading inside straight away, he checked that the $50- note he’d stashed in his suit was still there. He cloaked and climbed down into the city. Walking until he found a suitable shop, a florist in a quiet street, he checked that he was the only customer and went inside.

The woman behind the counter looked up when the bell rang, but she didn’t see anyone enter. Strange. He de-cloaked in front of her. She gasped and stepped back.

“Hi. Sorry for the scare. Can I get some flowers?” He held the cash out in front of him.

“Ah, sure.” she said. “What kind?”

“Something really pretty.” He said.

“How about these?” He checked her heartbeat. It was strong and regular, and he sensed no deception.

“Perfect.” He said, reaching out for them and handing her the fifty.

“Here’s your change.” She said, holding out a five and some coins.

“Nowhere to put it.” he smiled, and walked out the door.

She rushed out the back of her shop to check the recording on her security monitor, but it was distorted and scrambled.

She was disappointed. She had no proof that Daredevil had been in her shop.

Oh, well. Them’s the breaks.

***********************************


End file.
